HP Pavillion A704W – Powers on, but does not boot

Name: Michelle Terral

HP Pavilion a704w when turned on fans come on but will not boot, no beeps at all what could be the problem?

This is a desktop, was trying to connect it to wireless network with my other computers and it froze when i tried to restart it at first all it did was the light on the front blink on and off, now light comes on fans come on but thats it.

My first two initial suspects are the power supply and the RAM. Since you were at the machine when it froze and it apparently didn’t power itself off I would start with the memory.

Open up your computer case, be sure to ground yourself so that you don’t discharge any static into the innards (shocking the motherboard is no good) and pull your RAM out. Try to turn the machine on once the memory is pulled. With any luck, you’ll hear some BIOS beep codes giving you an error.

Even if it doesn’t beep at you, insert just one of the memory sticks back into the machine. If that one doesn’t work, then take it out and try the other (with any luck you have at least two). RAM is one of the more volatile components in a machine and is one of the most common that I see go out.

If none of that works for you then it’s possible that both sticks are bad, in which case you’ll need to acquire some new RAM to test with. In the event that the new RAM also doesn’t work (keep your receipts) then I’d try the power supply next.

The power supply is more of a pain to remove than the RAM, but it’s not terribly difficult. You’ll need to test with a PS that’s sufficient enough to power your machine, and since I have no idea what is in a Pavilion A704W then I’d say use at least a 400w unit. With any luck you have a nerdy friend that has spare computer parts just lying around, that’ll make all of this troubleshooting just that much easier.

Hook your computer up to the new supply and try to turn it on. If it works, then viola, congratulations. If not, then there is always the possibility that more is wrong with the machine than I had hoped, which could be the motherboard, CPU, or hard drive failing. In this case you’re better off just taking it to a professional to be looked at. Hopefully you’ve made it a habit to back your data up.